Swingarm Protection?

Hi all. New Intense owner here (used 2010 Tracer VP). Love the bike performance, but has anyone found a good, durable way to protect the swingarm/chainstay area where the chain tears the heck out of it? I'm talking right at the lower link on the drive side. I'm going through self-fusing tape at an alarming rate trying to protect what's left of that area on mine and wondered if anyone has come up with a better mousetrap. I run a 3-ring setup (soon to be 2), so I think I'm SOL for any kind of tensioner helping.

FWIW, last time I taped it, I put a small piece I cut from a CD-R case underneath so that when the tape wears through, there's a plastic sacrifice panel before it gets to the paint/metal again. The curve of the CD case matches remarkably well to that part of the swingarm. But I only get about 4 rides before I have to retape.

I use 3m Mastic Tape. One roll does four frames and is available at Home Depot for $10. I've had great luck with it and it lasts long, quiets things down, and can be cut to look almost factory installed.

I use Framewrap on my Tracer (Home) and it works well. It looks like the same stuff as the Mastic tape above, but it only sticks to itself. I also run a Blackspire Stinger (2x10 setup for me) which helps quite a bit with dropping chains & keeping noise down. I'll probably give that Mastic tape a try when I run out of my Framewrap.

I typically don't keep my frames longer than a year so I protect it as if it would go through a nuclear blast to keep re-sale value up.

I typically wrap the frame with 3M (Scotchgard) paint protection clear film 8mil. The areas where I wrap the chainstay don't last that long so I use Velcro (soft-side), cut it to fit and and old tube that I cut in half and wrap around the stays (can't see the Velcro underneath but it's there). The links are also notorious for chain rub so I add Velcro to that too. Anal? yes.

Photo of my latest frame done up and a frame without the protection on link but with some on stay.

I have ordered a c.guide v02. I'll post once I have some test time with it. The online video with some footage of the chain with and without was very convincing and looks like it addresses exactly what I'm experiencing. We'll see!

I have ordered a c.guide v02. I'll post once I have some test time with it. The online video with some footage of the chain with and without was very convincing and looks like it addresses exactly what I'm experiencing. We'll see!

i saw that they made an stronger rear triangle but i am not going to wait until it break because my warranty expires in 5 months so i will like to send my old and of they can send me the stiffer rear triangle i will pay the shipment cost ???? someone know something?? please help me

That black stuff you see ahead of the Lizard Skin on my chainstay in the video I posted is self-vulcanizing tape. The Tracer's design cuts through several layers of that in less than 4 rides. However, I'm hoping this new guide keeps the chain off that area so that I don't have to retape it nearly as often. I like that self-vulc tape stuff, but I'm going through it like it's water.

I wasn't either, but then the one reviewer I read online had a statement that hooked me. He said, "Ok, it's expensive, but how much did you pay for that frame?" I kinda nodded and thought, "I guess he's right."

I wasn't either, but then the one reviewer I read online had a statement that hooked me. He said, "Ok, it's expensive, but how much did you pay for that frame?" I kinda nodded and thought, "I guess he's right."

Looking forward to it!

Another way to look at it:

The C.Guide is a smoother running, quieter and at 19g a much lighter solution than anything else available. As with any product in the bike industry you pay more for lite-weight and better function. Once you put it on and use it, you will see the value.

I was worried about clearance to the crankarm when using the 11-tooth in the back, and it turns out I was right. Not only crank clearance, but also shoe clearance. My installation lasted about 20 minutes. The guide made contact with my foot or the crank arm while pedaling down a gnarly fast section, which rotatated it and then broke the mounting pivot piece. Fortunately the kit came with two.

So I did some investigation. Moving it forward seems like the only solution; moving it rearward will make the amount it sticks out when using the 11T even worse, and it also greatly reduces the ability to stop the chain from tearing up the chainstay (i.e. the whole reason I got it). I remounted it and took a quick spin.

I observed what is happening. In the higher gears (11T, 12T, etc.) with the guide outboard, over rough sections it starts to bounce into the path of the cranks and your foot. So I'm going to try the solution you see here, using self-fusing tape as a damping material:

This still allows the guide to move, but it stops the undamped bouncing. Or so I hope...

On the plus side, while it was on the bike, it did help. The bike is still fairly loud, but once I had to stop and remove it when the attachment broke, I immediately noticed a lot more noise and chain slap, and in about 2 minutes I dropped a chain. So it works, I just have to make sure I can keep this failure from happening again.

I'm surprised no one else has had this problem. I'd love to hear more ideas.

I wanted to post an update. I now have two successful rides on the guide installed as you see above, plus one more zip tie in the middle as recommended by Bionicon. Paul from Bionicon contacted me directly with some recommendations, etc. Top-notch customer service! I'd certainly not hesitate to buy their products in the future.

Next step may be to remove the damping tape and see how it goes, but I'm tempted to not mess with what is working. The Tracer will never be a quiet bike, but it was quieter and I had much less chain trouble on the rides. It also appears to be protecting the chainstay as I had hoped, as my tape there appears to be nearly untouched after the last ride.

Not to bring an old thread back, but this stuff works wonders. Comes with a chain stay, seat stay and down tube pieces and a couple smaller ones for cable rub. Really quiets down the bike as well.Home | Frame Defender

Not to bring an old thread back, but this stuff works wonders. Comes with a chain stay, seat stay and down tube pieces and a couple smaller ones for cable rub. Really quiets down the bike as well.Home | Frame Defender

Hey dude, I think this setup works well - I also put the fuzzy side of 3M industrial Velcro on the bottom and top of my front derailleur cage, and with my guide my bike is super quiet. I've had only one half-dropped chain that I was able to pedal back on - like it was halfway off the large chain ring and I pedaled it back on.
This bike is pleasantly quiet though on really technical downs.

Hey dude, I think this setup works well - I also put the fuzzy side of 3M industrial Velcro on the bottom and top of my front derailleur cage, and with my guide my bike is super quiet. I've had only one half-dropped chain that I was able to pedal back on - like it was halfway off the large chain ring and I pedaled it back on.
This bike is pleasantly quiet though on really technical downs.

I do that velcro on the front d trick too. It's awesome for a quiet ride. Just make sure you spray everything down with rubbing alcohol first so the velcro sticks well.